river locations, and select bars. >> we need to check it out. lester holt is next with nbc "nightly news." >> thanks for joining us. see you at 6:00. bye. breaking news tonight. shock waves from an explosive racist photo unearthed. a powerful governor's yearbook page revealed late today showing a person in blackface and another as a member of the kkk. there are immediate calls for him to resign. and we've just gotten word from the governor moments ago. what he is saying. controversy at the super bowl. for the first time maroon 5 addresses that halftime show uproar. and a new alert. the fbi says it's inundated with drones flying over the stadium. a major security effort und after that record cold in some places it's about to feel over 100 degrees warmer. tv star jussie smollett breaking his silence, speaking out for the first time since he says he was brutally beaten by attackers yelling racist and homophobic slurs.

the dramatic collapse of a landmark nuclear treaty with russia. president trump pulls out, igniting new concerns about an arms race. an nbc news exclusive as the president says isis has been defeated. a frightening message from one of the world's top law enforcement officials. >> they've been hardened, sometimes brutalized, definitely sometimes with the skills they need, for instance, to build a bomb. he's in the running. cory booker kicks off his campaign for president. a growing democratic field. elizabeth warren issues an apology. and what apple is now saying about that major security breach to your iphone and the company's new message to the 14-year-old who discovered it. good evening, everyone. breaking news as we come on the air in the west, a racist photo has surfaced, leaving

serious questions about his past. this picture of two unidentified individuals, one painted in blackface, the other in a kkk robe and hood, appears on the 1984 medical school yearbook page of current virginia governor ralph northam. the photo roiling virginia politics and triggering calls for northam's resignation. hallie jackson has more on this developing story. >> reporter: a decades-old yearbook page suddenly in the spotlight because of this picture of two people, one in blackface, the other in a kkk hood. the page belongs to ralph northam. he's now the democratic governor of virginia. that's him in the tie in 1984, the year he graduated from the eastern virginia medical school.two pele on a far-right website that virgen promotes ia republican party. conservatives already furious after northam's comments on a controversial late-term abortion bill being considered in the virginia state legislature. northam suggested this week he might look at the bill if it made it to his desk.

>> we want the government not to be involved in these types of decisions. we want the decision to be made by the mothers and their providers. and this is why, julie, that legislators, most of whom are men, by the way, shouldn't be telling a woman what she should and shouldn't be doing with her body. >> reporter: northam now faces new political pressure. the head of virginia's republican party saying, these pictures are wholly inappropriate. if governor northam appeared in blackface or dressed in a kkk robe, he should resign immediately. and just moments ago the governor released a statement confirming he is in that photograph in a costume he describes as clearly racist and offensive, although he did not specify which person he is. northam says, i am deeply sorry for the decision i made to appear as i did in decision caused then and now. he adds, this behavior is not in keeping with who i am today and the values i have fought for throughout my career. the virginia governor also offering what he called his sincerest apology.

lester? >> hallie jackson tonight with that, thank you. this evening a million people are converging on the city of atlanta, the center of excitement, also the center of controversy and security ahead of super bowl liii. gabe gutierrez is there for us tonight. >> reporter: tonight thousands of fans are pouring into atlanta. celebrations under way for super bowl liii. >> go pats go! >> reporter: this year's halftime show is clouded in controversy. headliner adam levine of maroon 5 speaking publicly about it for the first time to "entertainment tonight." >> i'm not in the right profession if i can't handle a little bit of controversy. it's what it is. we expected it. we'd like to move on from it. like i said earlier, through the music. >> reporter: other superstars like rihanna and cardi b. quarterback colin kaepernick, who protested against police brutality and racial injustice with a controversial act, taking a knee during the national anthem.

former pink floyd bassist roger waters posting this video urging maroon 5 to kneel during the halftime show. an online petition asking the band to drop out has gotten more than 100,000 signatures. atlanta native gladys knight also facing backlash after agreeing to sing the national anthem here. >> everybody got their opinions, you know, about whatever it is, you know. but once we get into that love thing, it all just comes together. >> reporter: so many opinions about the teams in the game too. after the refs' blown no-call in the nfc championship. a judge rejecting a lawsuit by new orleans saints fans who had wanted to replay the end of the game. the players and performers now set for one of the world's biggest stages. gabe gutierrez, nbc news, atlanta. this is tom costello. fbi agents at the super bowl say they're growing increasingly frustrated. the problem, unauthorized drones flying around the mercedes-benz stadium. six confiscated yesterday alone, though none were threatening. >> it's taken up a lot of time for our agents and law

enforcement officers to be targeting these drones when they could be working on other security measures. >> reporter: with 70,000 people expected on sunday, the concern is that a drone could crash, injuring fans or players on the ground, or a terrorist could use a drone as a weapon. on game day, the faa has declared a no-drone zone within a 30-mile radius of the stadium. until then drones must stay a mile away and up to 1,000 feet. the ban comes after drones shut down air traffic at london's gatwick airport in december, and newark's airport last month. >> drones are a concern. that's something that's come up on our radar the last of years with the popularity of them and the cheap economic cost of operating them. >> bring your lucky jersey. >> reporter: now the faa is telling drone hobbyists to stay away. >> leave your drone at home. >> reporter: anyone violating the no-drone zone faces a fine of $20,000 or more. tom costello, nbc news, washington. up north the temperature climbed into the

relatively balmy 20s in chicago today as the cold from the polar vortex finally began to loosen its deadly grip on the midwest, now responsible for at least 18 deaths. as our kathy park reports, millions are now bracing for a weather whiplash. >> reporter: days of whiteout conditions and record-breaking bitter cold. with icy roads, canceled flights, and schools closed, many cities were at a standstill. this satellite image shows chicago literally frozen over. >> i was not made for this weather at all. >> reporter: about 160 weather records were shattered. and the city of cotton became the coldest spot in the country. but the deep freeze is making way foa astic warmup. >> i'm kind of ready l, i'm a palm tree girl. >> reporter: by sunday, temperatures in the midwest, the northeast, will be above average. new york city, which

felt like 17 below, is forecast to be 60 by tuesday, a 77-degree difference. in minneapolis, it could feel like 96 degrees warmer. and chicago, which felt like 52 below, could reach 53, a difference of 105 degrees. >> very toasty compared to yesterday. >> reporter: mother nature giving us an early sign of spring. perhaps a famous groundhog will hold the same prediction. kathy park, nbc news, new york. the race for president also heating up quickly. what could be the biggest democratic field for president we've seen in our lifetimes is beginning to take shape. the latest entrant, new jersey senator cory booker. his announcement m oming as nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: new jersey senator cory booker making his esofficial. >> i believe that we can build a country where no one is forgotten, no one is left behind. where we see the faces of our leaders on television and feel pride, not shame. >> reporter: the former newark

mayor launching his campaign on the first day of black history month, a sign he's courting critical african-american voters. >> i'm running for president. >> reporter: the white house wasting no time taking aim at him. >> i think cory booker often sounds like a hallmark card and not necessarily a person who's there to tell you everything he's accomplished. >> reporter: appearing on "the view," booker declined to target his fellow democrats already in the race. >> there will be some sibling rivalry, but at the end of the day, we're family. >> reporter: instead taking his own swipe at mr. trump. >> if you're tired of that kind of bitterness, of that kind of trash talking, i'm not in this down, i'm in this race to build our nation up. >> reporter: it comes as senator elizabeth warren tries her footing, apologizing to the cherokee nation for releasing a dna test showing she has distant native american ancestry. president trump has seized on the firestorm with his favorite slur. >> pocahontas, pocahontas. >> reporter: a diverse field that could get even more crowded. >> the big story of cory booker

getting in now is how it's suddenly getting late early, as yogi berra would once say. i don't know how much room there is for more candidates. >> reporter: kristen welker, nbc news, the white house. >> senators booker and warren and other declared candidates will be in the house chamber when we begin our coverage of president trump's state of union address tuesday night at 9:00 eastern here on nbc. one of the president's most vocal critics, attorney michael atti, will no face charges ors say, for a domestic violence arrest in november. a woman accused avenatti, who represents stormy daniels, of grabbing her wrist and throwing her out of his home, which he denied. a star of the tv show "empire" breaks his silence on an assault he claims he suffered this week. stephanie gosk has the latest. >> reporter: three days after jussie smollett told police he was attacked on the streets of chicago, the actor has released his first public statement. let me start by saying that i'm okay.

i am working with authorities and have been 100% factual. police say detectives have pored through hundreds of hours of surveillance footage but have found no evidence of an assault. they have released this photo of two people of interest. smollett told police that soon after he left this subway restaurant, two men attacked, shouting racial and homophobic slurs. later smollett's manager, brandon moore, told police he was on the phone with his client during the alleged assault and heard the men yell "this is maga country." a detail smollett did not include endescribed the crime, according to officials. eager to pinpoint the time of the attack, investigators say they asked if smollett would turn over his phone records, but so far the actor has orni the police chief was asked if there will be any further effort to obtain the phone records. >> he's a victim, you know. so we don't treat him like a criminal, he's a victim, you know. so like i said, he's been very cooperative with us. >> reporter: smollett says he needs a moment to process. ♪ the actor will be back in public saturday night performing a

concert for a sold-out crowd. stephanie gosk, nbc news. the u.s. tonight is playing a risky card against russia in a game where the stakes don't get much higher. nuclear weapons. the trump administration announcing today it's suspending a landmark arms treaty with russia that for decades kept the lid on a nuclear arms race. andrea mitchell with the latest now. >> reporter: tonight the president taking the dramatic step of announcing he will withdraw from a landmark cold war-era arms control treaty because russia has been cheating s.ided russia an ample window of time to mend its ways and for russia to honor its disadvantage of going by a treaty, limiting what we do, when somebody else doesn't go by that treaty, okay? >> reporter: at issue, russia's deployment of missiles along european borders that eaty.opinto pressure russia back into line says the allies fully support the u.s. withdrawal, which becomes final in six months. but the european union says it wants the treaty

preserved. signed by ronald reagan and mikhail gorbachev more than 30 years ago, the treaty banned thousands of short and medium-range missiles then threatening europe. >> we have made history. >> reporter: tonight new concerns about reigniting an arms race. >> we should feel less safe by the forced withdrawal of the united states from this treaty, because this will lead to an arms race and more destabilizing weapons around the world. >> reporter: nancy pelosi says the administration is risking an arms race, while russia accused the u.s. of failing to negotiate in good faith. lester? >> andrea mitchell, thanks. from that chilling call back ng the cold war, we about isis from one of the world's top law enforcement officials. interpol's secretary-general is sounding the alarm in an nbc news excve isis 2.0 is >> reporter: tonight rising from the ashes of iraq and syria, a new warning from one of the world's top

police officers in an exclusive interview with nbc news. >> they are hardened, sometimes brutalized, definitely sometimes with the skills they need, for instance, to build a bomb. >> you do not believe isis has been defeated? >> there's still a huge and complex terrorist threat. >> reporter: while president trump is withdrawing u.s. troops from syria. >> we have won against isis. >> reporter: tonight there are growing signs isis is down but not out. a draft pentagon report expected week warns, without continued military pressure, isis could regain territory in six to 12 months, two u.s. officials familiar with the draft tell nbc news. and interpol's secretary-general warns america's security is at risk. the u.s. and its allies urgently collecting biometric data, fingerprints, and dna on isis fighters, data that directly enables america to defend its estimated 2,700 former isis members now in prison may not be on the database.

>> it's still a program that is work in progress. so we are -- >> how many are still missing? >> i don't know how many are missing. >> reporter: he says gathering data on isis prisons in syria relies on the u.s. military. in a few months the u.s. won't be there. lester? >> all right, keir simmons, thank you. tonight while many government workers are still recovering from delayed paychecks, new numbers show strong hiring in january despite shutdown. employers added 304,000 jobs. now an update on a story we first brought you here after an nbc news investigation. the department of housing and urban development notified tenants today in a rundown apartment complex in hartford, connecticut, they would be relocated to new homes. in november our report found rodents, mold, roaches, and fire safety violations in that complex. now hud has terminated a landlord's multi-million dollar contract. just ahead as we continue, the racially charged video triggering outrage tonight.

then why you'll have to wait longer for apple to fix that scary facetime glitch. and meet the stars of the other big super bowl game this weekend.

next tonight, outrage in detroit where there are calls for a police officer to be fired over a snapchat video he posted that many have called racist. nbc's miguel almaguer has the details. >> see if she gestures one more time -- >> reporter: the video uploaded to snapchat recorded by detroit police officer gary steele, the 18-year veteran using the premade app captions, what black girl magic looks like, and celebrating black history month, after pulling over ariel moore. that wasn't called for. you know, we're in 2019. racism is still going on. >> reporter: moore, who was stopped while driving through detroit for expired tags and driving without insurance, had her car impounded.

moore was recorded walking home as officer steele and his partner -- >> walk of shame. >> reporter: -- made what the police chief calls troubling comments. >> bye, felicia. >> i'm angry because this was a racially insensitive post. this is not what we expect of detroit police officers. >> reporter: officer steele, who has not responded to our requests for comment, has been demoted and misdemeanor ter he was charged with attacking his ex-girlfriend and firing a gun. tonight detroit's top cop calls this video an outrage, one that could cost the officer his job. miguel almaguer, nbc news. up next, where's apple's fix for that eavesdropping glitch?

some startling new video showing the moment a dam broke in brazil, unleashing a sea of mud and sludge. at least 110 people were killed in last week's disaster. over 230 are still missing. tonight, apple is thanking the 14-year-old boy who found that major security glitch on the iphone. the company scrambling, but as the week ends it's still not fixed. here's morgan chesky. >> reporter: tonight a promised fix from apple for a facetime flaw turning any iphone into a live microphone. a glitch the company findg. >> i can still hear her, yet she hasn't answered. >> reporter: nine days after thompson sent this video demonstrating the flaw the company responded saying she fixed the group facetime security bug and will issue a software update for users next week, we thank the thompson family. >> we're both pretty stunned we could hear both of each other without him clicking answer. >> reporter: thompson found when he added a caller to group facetime, not only could he hear his friend if they didn't answer but could even see them if they dismiss the call using the volume button. >> i can see her. >> reporter: the bug, which has since gone viral as iphone users tested it themselves, is also drawing

scrutiny from lawmakers. new york state launching an investigation, calling apple's mistake a serious threat to security and privacy. tonight apple reassures its iphone users this group facetime flaw should be fixed by next week's update. but until then skeptics say there will be a surefire way to make sure no one's listening in -- is to disable facetime entirely. lester? >> all right, morgan, thank you. up next, move over, super bowl. some other top dogs are competing too this weekend. arrive now.

at 6, the flash flood watch you need to know about - and what saturday and sunday look like. plus too close for comfort. we investigate who )s to blame fora near collision in the skthat )s next. while the patriots and rams face off in the super bowl, two other teams will be unleashed this weekend. there's a bit of a hint behind me. as kristin dalgren tells us, there's more than a trophy at stake. >> reporter: it has all the hype of the puppy bowl, but before the youngsters take

the field, dogs who have been around the track will go for gridiron greatness. >> touchdown again! iggy the invincible! >> reporter: more importantly, a place to call home. >> i'm all about the underdogs of the shelter world. >> reporter: now back for year two, dog bowl was the long-time dream of animal advocate jill rappaport. >> hi there, buddy. >> reporter: the show on animal planet showcases seniors, shelter dogs with an average age of 7. and they've still got game. >> touchdown, nano! >> reporter: caiden is a stray all the way from afghanistan. there's captain will, rescued from puerto rico. sprinkles, sonni, beans, iggy, and let's not forget mr. bojangles. >> the best thing about an older dog, and i really mean this they truly know they've been saved. >> reporter: proof there's always time for more plays in the second half. kristen dalgren, nbc news, new york. >> scrappy all-stars there. wish we could adopt them all. that's "nightly news" for this friday. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbcright now

shots fired. new police body cam video shows what happened moments before officers shot and killed a man. plus: a close call... the new details about two planes that nearly collided near the oakland airport. but first: the rain is back. a live look at our radar as we )re in for a very wet and windy night. the rain is back. a live look at the radar, and we are in for a wet and windy night. the news at 6:00 starts now. good evening, everyone, thanks for joining us. i'm jessica aguirre. >> i'm raj mathai. we're getting hit by a sizable storm, and it's coming in right about now. we'll look outside, a live look across the bay area. the roads are slick during this friday evening commute. >> we have a team of reporters from the bay area to the sierra. we begin in studio with chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. talk to us about the timing. >> it is just beginning now. we're starting to see moisture

ahead of the storm system falling across the bay area. it's been more of a light to moderate rain for most of the bay area. as you'll see on the weather maps, the main part of the storm with the bulk of the heaviest rainfall is located out here. so several more hours before that gets here, it's this southerly moisture tap ahead of it that's bringing in rain now. it's also the southerly moisture tap that will join with the storm system and help to boost our totals. let's go ahead and look at radar. we want to let you know the national weather service radar is down. the only way to get high-level detail is with our storm ranger, our mobile doppler radar. you see the radar network that's still available. it shows that it's in